TV property expert Martin Roberts has warned homeowners not to panic after reports that house prices will drop by 9%. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility the value of properties will plummet to that level by next Autumn.
But Mr Roberts has claimed it's not all doom-and-gloom, adding: “All eyes are definitely on the housing market at the moment and everybody is worried about what will happen.
“So many people are jumping on the bandwagon of saying it's all doom and gloom. But we should go back to the start of lockdown when exactly the same doom mongers were out there saying how terrible it was going to be. Really, really influential people were predicting 25 to 40% drops in house prices at the start of lockdown. We saw absolutely the opposite. We saw 25% increases and stuff that nobody could have predicted.” You can get more property news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Predicting the market to hold firm he told GB News: “The housing market is resilient. It does go through ups and downs. It will have cyclical moves, you know, at times it does drop down at times it goes up. And that's just the way it is. But if you look back over history, it's always carried on in the same direction. So what I would say to people at this point is, don't panic, and don't believe what you read.
“Plus, if you're not in the market of selling or buying don't worry about it. It's a dinner party conversation. It's a feel-good factor if your house is going up in value. But if you're not in the process of moving, just don't worry about it until you are in the process of trying to buy. You could see any potential drops as a bit of a bonus...use all the negativity to your advantage when you are negotiating.”
Martin also said that the country had probably become too used to low interest rates. “We've all got used to low interest rates,” he pointed out. “In fact, we've all got used to silly, unbelievable interest rates. But historically, even if you get a mortgage at four or five or six per cent it's still cheap in the wider historical context of lending of money.
“Yes, of course, obviously, people are having to actually borrow a lot more of the value of the house now. In terms of looking at the wages, you know, people are looking at five, six times their earning capacity, of course. And therefore, if house prices do drop, they've got this awful thing of negative equity hanging over their head. The cost of living crisis is obviously a worry as is the general feeling of uncertainty, but I’d just urge people not to panic. And remember, it is cyclical.”
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